


Heart Shaped Balloons (And Other Swiss Miracles)

by misura



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Community: avland, Hospitals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-21 21:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/905261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Bucky Barnes changes history as the Western world would never know it by waking up in a Swiss hospital.</i> (post-train raid AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heart Shaped Balloons (And Other Swiss Miracles)

**Author's Note:**

> written for a challenge requiring one to write a piece of in between 200 and 800 words, using all of the following:
> 
> fire / information / heart / balloon / candy / yells OR yelled / wedding / runs OR ran / hospital / extraordinary / biscuits / karaoke
> 
> (as you can see by the word count for this one, I ended up submitting a different piece)
> 
> (plus, fitting 'karaoke' into a fluff piece supposedly set during WWII? not easy - I ended up cheating a bit with that one.)

There's a long fall and a longer string of images, memories, things he wished he'd done or said and never had gotten around to (funny, how you can be best friends and more with someone and still leave so many things undone and unsaid).

 _Next time_ , he thinks, knowing there won't be one. _I'm bringing a damn parachute._

The moment of impact is blessedly brief.

 

Bucky Barnes changes history as the Western world would never know it by waking up in a military hospital.

He's halfway convinced that he's dead after all, that this place he's found himself in is some sort of afterlife, but there's a strong smell of disinfectant in the air and someone wearing a German uniform lying in the bed next to him, and while Bucky may have done some bad things, he's pretty sure he doesn't deserve to go to the same place as some damn Jerry.

Also, Steve is sleeping in a chair by the window.

*

Switzerland.

Land of snow and the Red Cross and (apparently) chocolate biscuits. (Bucky would have preferred some good old American cookies, or actual chocolate, but he supposed nearly dead men oughtn't be picky.)

"Had us all worried there, Bucko," Dugan said, with the broad smile of someone who knows he's using a much despised nickname on someone incapable of doing anything about it. "For a moment there, we were sure Steve was going to go all _karaoke_ on us - as Jim might put it."

"I don't think that word means what you think it means."

Dugan shrugged dismissively. "You get my drift, I'm sure."

"That I do." Bucky'd been at the hospital often enough himself, waiting to hear how badly Steve'd gotten himself beaten up this time. Not much chance of _that_ ever happening again, he fancied. "Where _is_ Steve, incidentally?"

"Ran off the moment it looked like you were about ready to open those pretty eyes of yours."

"To get a doctor? I feel fine."

"You won't, shortly." Dugan grinned. "You scare the shit out of all of us, you get yelled at by our Captain. Only fair."

"Steve's really not the yelling kind." On the other hand, Steve was definitely a master of the quiet, hurt-and-disappointed looks.

"Well, I could be wrong about that doctor. Could be he's gone off to find a priest, instead."

Dugan's grin was decidedly wicked. Bucky considered pretending to fall back asleep. "And why would Steve want to bring a priest in here, Mr Dugan?"

Mistake. Definitely a mistake.

"Why, to finally make an honest man out of you, Mr Barnes. Reckon he thinks the wedding party can wait till later, but, well, any more stunts like this, and he might find himself short one groom. Be a pity if that happened."

"I'm going back to sleep now. Would you tell the nurse to come and wake me when there's no more crazy folks hanging around in my room? Or when Steve gets here." Not that Steve wasn't crazy, too, in his own way, but Bucky could handle Steve's brand of crazy. In fact, he might even go so far as to say he _liked_ Steve's brand of crazy. Steve was an extraordinary guy that way.

"The heart wants what the heart wants, Sergeant. No shame in leaving some extra girls for the rest of us. God knows there's few enough to go around as it is."

"Fine, that's done it. I'm asleep. Go away."

Amazingly, Dugan went. _Man must have really been worried._

 

Steve came in bearing flowers and - _huh_.

"Going to visit your lady friend after this?" Agent Carter was a fine woman; Bucky couldn't say he disapproved of Steve's taste. Didn't really seem the type to get weak knees when presented with a heart shaped balloon, but you could never tell. Perhaps she might use it for target practice.

"I got you some candy from back home," Steve said.

"No cigarettes?" Bucky hadn't been conscious for very long, but long enough to ask for a smoke - and to be told in no uncertain terms that smoking was strictly prohibited in this building. (You'd think he'd asked for permission to set the place on fire or something, what with the expression on the woman's face. Utterly impossible to sweet talk, too - not that he'd really been trying.)

"Sorry." Stickler for the rules that Steve was, he still looked honestly apologetic.

"It's fine, don't worry. I was considering to quit, anyway."

Steve's lips curved, but he didn't actually call Bucky a liar.

"Right," Bucky said. "So. We got our guy. Anyone get any useful information out of him yet?"

Steve looked faintly embarrassed. "I uh haven't really checked. I've been busy."

"Doing what?"

Steve looked slightly more embarrassed. "Stuff."

Bucky decided to be merciful. "Stuff. Well, that's good. The way Dugan was talking, it half sounded like you couldn't think of anything better to do than sit by my bed and worry yourself sick. I mean, I was touched, obviously, but it would still have been a damn fool thing to do."

"Yeah," Steve said, not sounding terribly happy, but no longer looking like he was wishing he were somewhere else, either. "I guess it would have been."

"So it's a good thing you didn't do that, huh? I mean, you being a captain and all. Got to set a good example for the men."

"Jerk," Steve said.

"Now, really, is that any way to talk to a recovering war hero? I think you - " Bucky said, and then Steve was hugging him, all tall muscles and pointy bits of uniform and solid warmth. (It was nice, was Bucky's point, but also maybe a teensy bit painful.)

"Stop talking," Steve said. "Please."

"You've gained a lot of weight since the last time we did this," Bucky said, and then he did shut up.


End file.
